Jenn (The Book Refuge)'s Reviews > Untouchable

Reread for Patreon 2022

Still 6 stars and everything I love about Dark Romance.

***********

WOW.

Wow wow wow wow.. And did I say. Wow.

I had this book recommended to me by a few people, but I hesitated because I don't really read HS Bully Romances anymore. However, I see this book as more than just a Bully Romance and it is also a very DARK romance with Assault, Rape, CNC, Manipulation, and Gas lighting. Out Hero does not deserve the title as Hero. He is an anti-hero at best and more like a villain in truth. He is forceful and controlling and willing to threaten everyone the heroine loves. And that was all in the first 20% of book.

But damn if I wasn't intrigued by Carter Mahoney.

Also by our heroine Zoey Ellis.

Zoey starts this book off as the Pariah of her school. A boy on the football team (Jake). Had felt her up after she had asked him to stop repeatedly. When she turned him in, and was very brave in doing so, Jake got suspended from Football for the rest of his Senior Year. She is bullied and called names and being treated so poorly. But her mind hasn't broken, and she is proud of herself for doing this.

Until she gets cornered in a classroom by Jake, Carter, and another boy, Shayne. They are trying to get her to take back her statement and say she lied. She stands her ground and won't back down. Even when they threaten to rape her right there. This is when Carter makes himself known and gives her the option of blowing him or getting raped vaginally. Since she is a virgin at this point, she chooses the blow job.

Zoey makes the point to say, that what they are doing to her now is way worse than when Jake just felt her up and the punishment could even be prison this time. (yeah, she is that brave while being assaulted by 3 guys.) But Carter says that he owns the whole town and he would really ruin her and no one would believe her anyway if she starts accusing more guys. This time the QB.

So yeah. This is all in the first 4 chapters. You are dropped right into this mess and it hits you right off that the description says she will fall for Carter.. the guy forcing her to suck him....

I'll be honest, I was like... How the FUCK am I going to be okay with this relationship? Is she going to be brainwashed? Is she going to be coerced? But I'll give the author this, I had to keep reading to see.

And when Carter shows up at her house the next day, bringing her soup because she stayed home sick with a sore throat (I shit you NOT!). He makes it clear that he is intrigued by her feistiness and he isn't done with her. In fact, he wants to take her out on a date! which her mother says she should accept!!!

This damn man-child has the whole town under his thumb. And I have seen that before. Its one of the reasons I don't like HS Bully Romances because I don't like or believe that a 17-18 year old kid can have THAT much power over so many people. But its more like he uses his charm and the perception people have of him and not just money, though he does do that too.

When Zoey still refuses to give in, Carter invites her best friend, Grace to a party and gets her drunk and basically threatens to rape her it forces Zoey to go and trade herself to him. (I know! But I was fascinated!) This leads to another coerced sex act, but this time she chooses to like it and he gets her off too so yay....

However, now Zoey starts to really think about his actions. She is a little fascinated about him now too. She researches him and researches his qualities and thinks about why he may be treating her this way. Its from this point where she starts to make the decision to stop fighting him (well, she still fights him but now it becomes Consensual Non Consent, because they start to figure out what he wants and what she likes together.)

I'll stop giving an exact play by play, but after listing some very terrifying aspects of this book I want to talk about why I liked it.

50% of the reason I liked it is because I love twisted Dark Romances like this one. It was almost like a Captive/Captor romance, because even though she was free, she wasn't. He could reach her at any time and no one believes her about what he is doing. So she gives in and makes the best of it. Lets him spoil her and sex her up good. (which is typical of Captor/Captive). He is so imposing and forceful and that shit gets me hot, make no mistake.

The other 50% is because of Zoey. She acknowledges and accepts the position she is in. She questions him and asks for honesty and demands respect even within this twisted game. He still always pushes her and usually gets his way, but he does respect her in a strange way. And while she doesn't "heal" him, he does chill out some and come to know where these dependencies on control and aggression come from (Childhood trauma, of course) and the play becomes more relegated to CNC and bedroom play as they come to love each other.

I also think it is helped by the length of the novel, this story could not have been rushed and it also didn't need 3 volumes. It was well paced and kept me turning every page.

Bottom Line. This is fucked romances. Don't be under any illusions. The first 4 chapters will probably scare off quite a few people and you will call me crazy. But if you like the Devil's Night Series by Penelope Douglas or other HS Bully Romances... I highly suggest you check this one out.

Again... Wow.

5 Stars (I regret nothing, only that there wasn't more)